Peppa Pig is a “brat” who “fat shames her dad” and is not suitable for children.
That is according to Lunchtime Live listener Avril who said the cartoon is banned in her house in favour of “more educational” alternatives.
Avril, a mother of three and childcare practitioner, said she changes the channel when she hears Peppa Pig come on.
“Peppa is just terrible,” she said.
“She has such a bad attitude, she hits her family, she is a bully, and she fat shames her dad.
“There are so many other beautiful programmes that are way more educational and a lot more fun to watch than Peppa Pig.
“I’m also coming from a childcare practitioner's point of view here too and we would never show Peppa Pig in the centre – it’s just not happening.”
Peppa Pig on the television. Image: LDNPix / Alamy Stock PhotoAvril said the show is a “roaring success,” but urged fellow parents to listen to the messages it contains.
“Kids are sponges and they take everything in,” she said.
“That’s exactly where we go wrong, we put them in front of the television with Peppa Pig on knowing that it’s going to hold them, but have we actually sat down and looked at it ourselves to see what is being said and portrayed within it?
“We don’t because we are too busy and we want the kids to be occupied - which is a part of life really.”
Avril recommended the cartoon Stillwater, which follows a wise Panda, as an alternative to Peppa Pig that has “no bullying, mistreatment of family or fat shaming”.
'Not allowed'
Opinions Matter podcast host Katie Makk said Peppa Pig is also “not allowed” in her house.
“It’s not just about Peppa that is the problem - it’s the whole show," she said.
“The mother is completely unintelligent – there is nothing going on between the eyeballs.
“The dad is depicted as a useless slob, which Peppa regularly points out.
“He’s always too fat or too big and she’s horrible to him and her friends – she tells them to stop talking.”
Children's behaviour
Ms Makk said her children began to behave differently after watching the cartoon.
“I even noticed after my own two were watching it, they would start talking like her – even with the little English accents,” she said.
“I just thought ‘sorry, this has to go’ – she is horrible.
“She is not allowed in my house because she is a brat, a spoilt brat.”
Ms Makk recommended Bluey as an alternative, an Australian cartoon that follows a puppy and his sister on lots of different adventures.
Almost 400 episodes of Peppa Pig have been released across seven seasons since it first aired on Channel Five in the UK in 2004.
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Main image: Peppa Pig and family. Credit: Astley Baker Davies Ltd / Album
